HDMI Television Sources and SnapStream

It is possible to record content via HDMI through one of our supported Encoders. This works great for recording content from video cameras, but we do not recommend using it for recording from cable boxes or satellite receivers due to High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP).

Before attempting to connect up your television source via HDMI, there are a couple of things that you must be aware of.

1) It is not possible to record closed captions via HDMI only. For this reason, our SnapStream encoder is equipped to connect a composite video cable from the same source as the HDMI connection. The composite video connection is usually signified with a yellow port. In this use case, the composite video connection is used specifically for the purpose of pulling in closed captions if available from the source, and the audio and video will be pulled from the HDMI connection.

2) SnapStream can't record HDCP protected content over HDMI. If the encoder senses an HDCP flag from the source, the content will not be passed along to the SnapStream system for recording. This will normally be the case when connecting cable boxes or satellite receivers via HDMI.

NOTE: We have found that some cable boxes and satellite receivers will stop outputting component video when they sense that HDMI is being used. When this happens, it may be necessary to disconnect HDMI from the cable box or satellite receiver, and restarting it before component video out will start working again.